Crows Can't Sing
by Psychopathus Rex
Summary: random title is random :P  My first story. A tag to Widow's Sting: Hawkeye was never used to having free time. With all the free time now, he's not comfortable left alone in the silence with his thoughts.
1. Promises and Alcohol

First story, yay! Bear with me. :) -Psychopathus

* * *

"You might be used to doing missions on your own, but guess what, hotshot? You're on a team now! You follow orders and think of how your actions affect everyone else!"

Tony was still outfitted in his red-and-gold armor, his helmet tucked under one arm as he paced back and forth in front of Captain America, Black Panther, and Hawkeye.

Hawkeye, Cap noticed, had remained uncharacteristically quiet through the duration of Tony's rant. The purple-masked archer would clench his hands into fists sometimes, but soon his brief display of anger would disappear and he'd return to the passive listener. Panther, not unexpectedly, kept silent.

Now it was Cap's turn.

"I understand your anger, Tony. I realize we disobeyed direct orders-" _even if they weren't so direct _"and took a S.H.I.E.L.D. operative into enemy territory. But this mission brought Viper and Grim Reaper into custody-not to mention we destroyed HYDRA Island."

"Yeah. Sure. Okay. If you're looking for a pat on the back, you're in the wong place." Tony smiled deprecatingly. "My point isn't that you three disregarding orders actually captured two villains and destroyed a HYDRA base, my point is that when you're on a team, you follow orders."

Panther folded his arms in front of his chest. "Perhaps, but an ancient Wakandan legend teaches the young of the tribe that not all orders are to be trusted."

Tony gave the African king an incredulous look. "Are you saying you can't trust me to be smart about my orders?"

"He's saying you're not a good leader." Hawkeye stood up from his chair and glared at Tony. "And I agree."

"You're throwing a fit because you know you were wrong." Tony stated matter-of-factly.

Hawkeye's hands balled into fists at his side. "Say that again and I'll punch you."

Tony narrowed his eyes. He knew better than to play Hawkeye's game and brew more resentment, but...he couldn't resist a challenge. A smug look crossed the billionaire inventor's face, then, "You're throwing a fit because you know you were wrong."

Hawkeye landed a hard right hook to Tony's jaw, but before he could do anything else, Cap had leapt to his feet and restrained him.

"You're way out of line, soldier!" Cap scolded, tossing the Avengers' resident sharpshooter back into his chair.

"Don't pretend he didn't have it coming!" Hawkeye snapped.

"Honestly, Clint? Not impressed. I'd have thought you could hit harder." Tony smirked, rubbing his jaw ruefully.

"Not helping." Cap growled.

"Fine. You guys can go. Including myself. I think I need some ice." Tony left the room, followed by a cat-eared shadow.

Hawkeye slumped in his chair and scuffed the floor frustratedly.

Cap pulled down his winged mask and allowed himself to fall back into his chair. "Don't you get tired of seeing everyone as an enemy?"

"Nope." Hawkeye answered curtly, also pulling back his mask and running a gloved hand through his messy dark blond hair.

Steve could see this wasn't going anywhere. "Okay, let's make a deal. If you can go the rest of the day without a mean word to anyone...I'll..." What could he bribe Clint with? "I'll ask Nick if I can arrange a meeting."

Clint lifted an eyebrow skeptically. "With...?"

"Mockingbird."

Clint shifted in his chair and his eyes regarded Steve shrewdly. "I'm listening."

"You can't say something to anybody that insults them or something they like."

"Deal! I'll just stay in my room the whole day."

"Oh no. You're not allowed to be in any room by yourself for more than ten minutes."

"What? You're so-" Steve smiled at his teammate's efforts. "Um. Blond. You're so blond."

"I know," Steve replied amusedly. "Remember. The whole day. And tomorrow, I'll take you to see Mockingbird."

* * *

"Clint! Great timing." Jan bustled in the front doors festooned with shopping bags. "I got a couple new outfits-"  
"And by couple, she means twenty..." Hank added, stumbling after Jan, also laden with shopping bags.

"-and I need someone who isn't my friend to tell me how they look. So stay right there!"

Within five minutes, Jan was back in a new outfit, a short (and revealing) black dress.

"Oh." Clint swallowed. "Um."

Hank stared in wonder as Clint stammered.

"I..uh, I like it."

Jan beamed. "Great! Next outfit!" She rushed to her room and reappeared almost immediately in a lacy white ensemble.

"So how's this one?"

* * *

"Ho, archer!" Thor greeted Clint with a hearty slap on the back that nearly knocked him down.

"Hey Thor." Clint straightened up and feigned a smile of joy at seeing the potentially insane powerhouse.

"Watch you the enchanted picture box recently?"

_"You're delusional!"_ jumped to mind, but Clint bit his tongue. "Uh, not sure what you just said."

"The enchanted picture box? Upon which the images of daily Midgardian life art projected in motion?"

Clint processed Thor's speech carefully. "...You mean the television?"

Thor waved his hand dismissively. "Television...'enchanted picture box' art a more suitable term for yon machinery. Watch you this...television...recently?"

"Have I watched the TV recently? No. Why?"  
"There hath been a story humans hath composed upon the Avengers recently shown in the television. I was wondering what the mortals spoke of us."

"Well, I know as much as you do." Clint shrugged.

"Very well. Worketh you on the sleek portable boxes for tapping and scutinizing photos of felines?"

"...What?"

* * *

That night, Clint sat quietly in the living room, watching the television.

"Cartoons? Nah. Soap opera? Meh. News? God, no. Science documentary..eh..."

Though his thumb hovered over the "channel up" button, Clint didn't change the channel from the documentary. Building multi-million dollar battlesuits or helmets that let you talk to bugs wasn't his forte, but he did find science interesting. Psychology, in particular. It was almost his secret interest.

The documentary was about alcohol and the effects it had on the brain.

_"Many alcoholics are prone to abusive behavior..."_

"No kidding." Clint muttered.

"Watching something about science? There is hope for you after all." Steve threw himself on the couch next to Clint. "Effects of alcohol on the mind, huh? ...That's...interesting."

_"Dr. Terrson is a leading expert on the subject. 'The effects of an alcoholic parent on a child are emotionally damaging, as well as affecting their quality of living. An abusive parent can warp a child's mind...the child may become passive-agressive, they could have anger issues, depression, they could be suicidal...' "_

At that, Clint tossed Steve the remote. "I'm...I'm gonna go to bed." he said softly, getting to his feet and shuffling out of the room.

"Hold it." Steve walked to his friend and placed a hand on his shoulder.

_" '...trust issues, as well.' New tests provide evidence that alcohol can be more hurtful to the brain and the user's family than other substances such as marijuana, heroin..."_

Clint studied the floor. "Are you okay?" Steve wanted to slap himself. The answer to that question was obvious, the real question was what, exactly, was wrong?  
" 'M fine. Just tired." Clint mumbled, pulling away.

"Don't lie." Steve planted himself in front of the Avenger. "What's got you so worked up?"

Clint winced, and, seeing no escape route, turned around and reclaimed his seat on the couch. Steve sat down next to him again and clasped his hands together earnestly.  
"Well..?"

"I grew up in a circus, right? That was after. After my parents died, I mean. My dad was an alcoholic. He abused me and my brother. And...he went out drunk with my mom and drove them into a tree." Clint blinked rapidly and took a deep breath. "My brother and I got shipped off to the orphanage. And sometimes he beat me up, but I thought if I was nice to him, he'd stop. That never worked. Then he wanted to leave...so I followed him. To the circus. And-uh, I can't remember." he finished quickly.

Steve cleared his throat and glanced around, suddenly regretting making Clint to tell him everything.

"I'm sorry." the former soldier said at last. "Sorry that had to happen to you...sorry I made you tell me."

Clint grimaced. "Yeah, well. Happens. I'm gonna go to bed, now."

And with that, Clint was absorbed into the darkness of the hallways.

* * *

Yipes. So, it appears my word processor has destroyed a lot of the stuff I put in. I'll be working to fix that. Please tell me what you thought, what you'd like to see, and thanks for reading! :D


	2. Hacking and Interrogation

Fury pinched the bridge of his nose. "Just spit it out, Steve! What do you want?"

Steve searched for the right words. "Um, a favor."  
"You're hardly in a position to be asking for favors."

"With all due respect, general..." Steve began with slow dignity. "I wish you would hear me out instead of shutting me off immediately."

Fury gritted his teeth and folded his hands behind his back. "Continue."

"It's for Hawkeye..."  
"No. You know where the door is."

"Nick, would you just listen?" Steve demanded exasperatedly. "I know I'm-one of-the last people you want to see, but I owe him. He's feeling a little out of it and I can't have him going-" Cap stopped himself.

"Going what?" Nick turned around and his dark expression spurred Steve to words.

"...Section 8. I can't have him going Section 8 on us."  
"You do realize Section 8 is no longer in effect." Nick deadpanned.

"It-really? Nevermind!" Steve shook his head angrily. "Point is, I caught him watching something on the telly and...are you aware of his childhood?"

The S.H.I.E.L.D. general lifted his chin and stared at Steve with patience and a warning tone. "All of my agents go through a required psychological screening. If there was something wrong with him, we'd know about it."

"But did you know his father was an alcoholic?"

Fury blinked in confusion. "What? No, his father was a successful business man. He had a fondness for golf and vacations."

Cap frowned. "Last night, Clint told me his father was an alcoholic. Who abused him and his brother."

Fury snorted, "I don't know what lies the kid's been feeding you, Cap, but see for yourself." A hologram materialized in front of the two with paragraphs of information on Hawkeye. "Father: a successful and loving business man. Liked golf and vacations."

"Could anyone have tampered with the records?"  
Fury laughed. "Yeah right. Listen, Cap. S.H.I.E.L.D. has state-of-the-art techies monitoring the security systems at all times. No way he or anyone else could've broken in."

"Oh really?" Steve pointed to the last sentence under Hawkeye's health records.

_By the way, congratulations for reading all of this. This is really fake. I just want to see how long it takes someone to realize that._

Fury stared at the screen a moment longer before punching a button. The hologram disappeared from sight and he cursed silently under his breath.

If he wasn't waiting for Fury to acknowledge he was right, Cap might've been impressed or humored by Hawkeye's cleverness.

"I should skin the little punk!" Fury grumbled.

"A meeting with Agent Mockingbird." Steve said confidently.

"What?"

"That's what I want. A meeting with Mockingbird."  
"You mean, Hawkeye gets a meeting with Mockingbird?"  
"Yes."

Fury opened his mouth as if to protest, then sighed deeply. "Fine. But you'll owe me."

"Thank you, sir!" Cap saluted quickly before dashing out the door.

Fury watched the star-spangled Avenger leave, then turned to the hologram projector. "Maybe I should get them to read the whole thing."

* * *

"Hiya, sport."

"Hey Mor-Bobbi." Clint stood up to greet her, stretching his arm for a handshake.

Mockingbird glanced at Clint's hand before taking her seat. "You gonna tell me why Fury stuck us in an interrogation room?"

Clint shrugged. "It was the best deal we could get."

Mockingbird gazed at the black panel of one-way glass warily. "We? Are your Avenger buddies watching us?"

"Nope."

The S.H.I.E.L.D. operative frowned at Clint, then relented and took off her mask. She tossed her blonde hair behind her shoulders and leaned back comfortably in her chair.

"So what do you want?"

"Remember when we were at HYDRA Island, and I told you to run?"

"All too well."

"Well, why didn't you?"

"Cap and Panther dropped by, in case you've forgotten."

"Were you gonna run if they hadn't burst in?"  
"No."

Hawkeye looked more than a little ill at ease. "We were both gonna die if Cap and Panther hadn't come."  
Bobbi grinned. "It comes with the costume, right?"

The archer didn't relax. "You could've died. All because I convinced you to come with me."

Bobbi rolled her eyes. "Tell me you're not going on a guilt trip."  
Clint was silent.

"Look, it's not your fault. I agreed to go with you. And if we died, we both would've been to blame. Okay?"

A huge weight seemed to lift itself from Clint's shoulders. "Okay."

Bobbi picked up her mask and stood up. "Can I go?"

"Uh-uh. That's not the only reason I wanted to talk." Hawkeye sprang from his chair to walk around the table, smiling at Bobbi.

"Do you want to grab some dinner?"

* * *

For those of you unaffiliated with military crap, Section 8 was a category of dismissal in which soldiers were discharged for psychological issues. It's no longer in effect, as Fury points out, because psychological screenings are required to enter in the service.

Short chapter, but I ended each little section exactly where I thought it should end. Thanks for reading! :)


	3. Author's Note Time!

Author's note time in response to Legion 22's review! Whoop!

First off, may I say I like your stories? :) I like everything so I guess that's not saying much, but it's cool to read fanfics with OCs. In my opinion.

Yes, I do read the comics. If you've read the comics too, you'll know the series stays relatively true to the source material, which is what makes it so great for comic fans and "newcomers" to the mythology as well. Assuming you've seen Widow's Sting, Hawkeye mentions that he's grown up in a circus, which is also true in his comic-self. I don't think an animated kids' series would hit on something as controversial as child abuse and alcoholism because parents are sensitive like that. So I took the opportunity to introduce that in my story because anything goes in fanfic, haha. But in the comics, Hawkeye did have an abusive father, and the condensed version he tells Steve of his childhood before the circus is about as close as I could get it. A friend of mine over the internet posted Hawkeye's original origin story (all two pages of it, yup!) that he scanned from a comic, so that's what I was drawing off of. I like to think that a character is like a compilation of all their versions-from comics, novels, movies, cartoons, etcetera. So no, I wasn't aiming for OOC. But the situation is rather unusual so I can't blame you for seeing it that way.

Tony I portrayed as a rather arrogant, smug, smirky guy because...well, he is. In the comics, in the movies, in Avengers: EMH. This is displayed pretty well in the cartoon, actually, because you can see him disregarding T'Challa's advice in Panther's Quest and other subtle examples are thrown in for effect. While he is smart, later in the comics (and, I'm hoping, the series) becomes a good leader, and has his good moments, he's far from perfect.

Cap I portrayed as the benevolent, unbiased but caring guy because that's how I've always seen him. In comics he's ranged from the team mom to the father figure. In Avengers: EMH he makes smart decisions that I suspect will build up to Tony passing the leadership to him because Cap is an all-around great guy. You can see that no one has anything bad to say about him since he knows what he's doing. You get experience fighting in WWII. Then later he's arguing with Fury since Fury's made it clear he's not happy with the Avengers. The Avengers are pretty much Cap's family at this point, what with most from his era being dead, so that puts Cap at odds with Fury.

Panther only pops in for a little so I will say that I don't have a good grasp of his character. Never read him much in comics, and he doesn't talk as much as the others in Avengers: EMH so I don't know him as well. However, I remembered that when making a point, he usually included, "Wakandan elders teach..." or "Wakandan legend states..." or "Wakandan children are brought up to know...". Just something about the character.

Wasp, in the comics, is a fashion designer. And she usually dragged poor Hank with her to carry all her bags, haha. She had a habit of showing off outfits to the team and demanding their "honest opinion" but they never said anything but "You look great!" because Janet van Dyne knows how to SHOP!

Thor, I admit, was a bit silly. He was really in to give Hawkeye another hurdle to jump, since Hawkeye told Panther he thinks Thor is insane and it'd be hard for Hawkeye not to say anything sardonic.

Fury has so far in Avengers: EMH been seen as an angry guy who barely tolerates the Avengers. He likes Cap, but he's not happy with Hawkeye's meddling or Tony's lack of control over the team or Hank's pacifistic attitude or Hulk being allowed to hang out in public. I perceived Fury as liking to tell people "NO." without hearing their full story because he's just too overworked to care.

Mockingbird only has that short moment at the end of chapter 2 so I'd have to wait until I started on chapter 3 to explain any more than what I can pull out of my butt here. In the comics, she called everyone "sport", which she also dropped in Avengers: EMH. She's a dedicated S.H.I.E.L.D. agent who knows her place. She can be tough and mean, but she has a sweet, compassionate, fun side. Obviously in Avengers: EMH she and Hawkeye like each other. In the comics, she actually proposed to Hawkeye after their first mission together. They had a rocky marriage that ultimately ended with her taking a demonic energy blast for Hawkeye. Now, in modern comics, she's been brought back and told Hawkeye that it was a Skrull that died, not her, and I should stop now before this goes on too long.

That leaves Hawkeye. Whew.

If I haven't made it obvious by now, Hawkeye is my favorite character. In the comics and the show. He has a temper, which explains why he had that outburst at Tony, but it kind of exhausts him and he just wants to brood at times. He's extremely insecure about his place on the team (as a guy in purple with a bow and arrows standing next to a genius in a battlesuit, a genius who can shrink or grow at will, a girl who can fly and shrink or grow at will, a giant gamma monster, a physical god, and a living legend is bound to feel) and feels he has to be twice as good at everything he does to be thought of as half someone else's worth. I went on the MarvelKids website for Avengers: EMH and it gave him a 5/7 on intelligence-which is more than most give him credit for. I figured if he was that smart he should be able to submit a false report on his history. Because, hey. It's based off comics. Anything can happen! :) He has trust issues from his betrayal by the Black Widow, which is brought up by Mockingbird later. He's sensitive about his past, for fear of being pitied. Sometimes it's like his witty quips and sarcastic snarkery have a mind of their own, because he will appear downright mean with relentless comments. That's why Steve challenged him to be nice for an entire day.

I hope that explained why I wrote the characters the way I did, Legion 22. And pleeease write that new story soon, I like Fugitive!

For everybody-again, thank you for reading! If anybody was wondering what "sleek portable boxes for tapping and scutinizing photos of felines" were that Thor mentioned...they were laptops. Tapping as in typing, and scrutinizing photos of felines meant looking at LOLcats. :D


	4. Snow and Lights

Bobbi sipped her soda and glanced around. "You sure have a romantic idea of a good time, Clint."

"Ah, you know me. I like the finer things in life." Clint replied, winking at a group of girls watching the two.

(Clint's idea of a good time apparently involved a neon-trimmed jukebox restaurant named Flo's Diner.)

Bobbi reached across the table and flicked him. "You're not supposed to invite a girl to dinner then flirt with other girls. That's just wrong."  
"But it feels so right..." Clint hummed. Bobbi flicked him again. "Agh! Okay! Sorry!"

The blonde superhero sat back in her chair and watched her former commander guardedly as he grinned at her.

Finally, Bobbi couldn't resist. "What?"

"What what?"

"Why do you have that goofy smile on your face?"

" 'Cause you're pretty." Clint looked at her as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Good answer, Barton. Keep it up and you might get a girlfriend." Bobbi returned without missing a beat.

"Well, Miss Morse, I'd like that girlfriend to be you, if you'll have me."

"I'll need some time to think, you know. The closest thing I've had to a boyfriend as of late was a Tarzan wannabe."

At Clint's questioning look, she added, "It was my first mission. I went to a prehistoric jungle oasis in Antarctica."

"You have quite the wit."

"I wasn't joking." Bobbi responded innocently.

"Sure...so. Mockingbird, huh?"

"Yep. S.H.I.E.L.D. Special Agent Mockingbird to you."

"Why 'Mockingbird'? Are you gonna peck my eyes out?"

(Clint's idea of a good night was watching a marathon of Alfred Hithcock films.)

"No. It's clearly because of my angelic singing voice." Bobbi answered dryly, passing the waitress her glass for a refill.

"Remind me not to take you out for kareoke."

"Hm?"

"You know, sarcasm. You were sarcastic just then. Because, mockingbirds can't sing, right?" A puzzled look crossed Clint's face.

"Mockingbirds can sing!" Bobbi protested hotly. "They just like to mimic other birds! But they can sing."

Clint snorted, "You're like the only person I know who could get defensive over a bird."

"Mockingbirds can sing."

"Uh huh."

"Crows can't sing."

"Right."

(Bobbi's idea of sheltering her dignity was more like a 4th grade science class discussion.)

The dinner ended within the hour and as Clint walked his date through the crowd, snowflakes danced through the air. It was nice-and not just because the dainty snow and the radiant lights of the city crafted a beautiful scenery. The snow, lacey bits of crystals, and the brilliant lighting plastered across every building almost contradicted each other: the soft nature and the bright machinery. Bobbi leaned against Clint as he slung an arm around her shoulders.

And it was nice.

It was an unspoken agreement they had that he would drop her off by sky-cycle onto the Helicarrier's roof. It was an unspoken agreement he had with the Avengers that he would quietly enter the mansion and stamp the snow off his sneakers. It was an unspoken agreement he had with Steve that he would personally apologize to Nick Fury for hacking into the S.H.I.E.L.D. database. All of those unspoken agreements were completed without grumbling or complaints from Hawkeye.

And it was nice.

* * *

A quick end to the story, but I felt like wrapping it up this way. :)

Thanks to all the reviews and advice, people. Thanks to everyone who read even if you didn't review. And thanks for bearing with me for three chapters. XD

...Tambien, if anyone didn't get the Alfred Hitchcock part, that was a reference to his movie Birds. In which birds went psycho-omnicidal and pecked the eyes out of everything that moved. I watched it when I was like 6 so it kind of imprinted in my brain, haha.


End file.
